Queen's Return
by kouzenji
Summary: After training for 3 years, Lucy, along with her new guild decided to join this year's Grand Magic Games. With new keys at her arsenal, Lucy's out to show everyone that Fairy Tail isn't the strongest guild in Fiore anymore.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** Okay guys, this is my very first fanfic so please, please, please go easy on me. English isn't my main language so pardon any grammatical errors. Lastly, I have no intention of adding any elements of romance here, YET (I'm a fan of CoLu so I might just go with that one). Hope you enjoy this short prologue. More chapters to come, promise! Don't forget to R and R! Kudos!

* * *

 **Prologue - A Dragon's Descent**

"L-Luce?" Natsu felt the familiar pang of guilt inside his chest the moment his opponent removed her hood, revealing the familiar face of none other than his ex-teammate Lucy Heartfilia – the woman who left Fairy Tail three years ago because of him.

"It's good to see you again, Natsu." Lucy's eyes bore unto him, devoid of any emotion. Her stare as cold as ice. "Let's both give it our best."

Before Natsu could even reply, the horn signaled the start of the match. Natsu, still confused and surprised at Lucy's sudden appearance, wasn't able to notice his opponent raising three keys. "Triple Gate Summoning: Aries, Sagittarius, Gemini." Suddenly, three figures appeared in front of Lucy, pulling Natsu back to reality.

"I'm sorry!" Aries apologized, looking as timid as ever.

"How can I help, moshi-moshi?" Sagittarius asked with a salute.

"Pirii-pirii. It's time to play! It's time to play!" Gemi and Mini danced midair.

Before, opening two gates simultaneously completely drains Lucy of her magic. Now, keeping three gates open was child's play for her. She trained herself to keep open at least five gates at once. No Celestial Wizard in history was able to achieve what Lucy did. Not even her mother, Layla Heartfilia.

Natsu, obviously surprised at Lucy's newly found strength, almost missed her commanding her spirits. "Aries, cover us. Sagittarius, prepare for the assault. Gemini, copy Sagittarius."

Slowly, Aries' wool covered the entire arena, hindering Natsu's vision. Even the audience, the commentators, and the rest of the guilds watching from the balcony couldn't see what was happening inside the arena. After a few minutes, the vision lacrima was finally able to see through Aries' wool, giving vision to everyone of what's happening except for Natsu.

"Luce! Where are you?!" Natsu shouted, trying to find his way out of the pink wool surrounding the entire arena. _"What the heck is with this pink stuff?!"_ Natsu thought to himself as he tried to swat away Aries' wool to no avail. As a Dragon Slayer, his senses are top-notch; especially his sight and hearing. Somehow though, the wool completely negated his senses. He couldn't see, nor smell Lucy anywhere. It's like she completely disappeared. "Luce!" Natsu shouted again.

Meanwhile, at least a few feet away from Natsu, Sagittarius and Gemini (in Sagittarius' form) were aiming their bows at the pink-haired Dragon Slayer with Lucy and Aries standing beside them. Somehow, Lucy could perfectly see Natsu through Aries' wool. Her cold, empty eyes staring at her ex-teammate as the young man desperately tried to find her. "Ready when you are, moshi-moshi." Sagittarius said. "Just give us the signal, moshi-moshi." Gemini (in Sagittarius' form) too, said.

Without even blinking, Lucy replied with an almost inaudible voice. "Go."

Turning around, Natsu saw a glint coming towards him from the corner of his eyes. "Luce, is that you?" Like a breeze, two arrows appeared in front of Natsu, one flying straight to his chest and the other to his forehead. Even with his Dragon Slayer reflexes, he still wasn't able to dodge one of the arrows when it successfully hit its mark.

" _I'm sorry, Natsu."_ Lucy thought to herself as Aries' wool finally disappeared, revealing a bloodied Natsu lying down on the arena. _"This is retribution."_

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And that's the end of the prologue! Man, Lucy's so badass! Next chapter will bring us back to the event which led Lucy to this darker path. Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 1

**Author' Notes:** I have no idea how to end this chapter so I just wrote down what came to my mind. Anyway, hope you're fond of reading 'cause this chapter's a little bit long. Oh wait. Anyway! R and R as always. Kudos!

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Pain and Determination**

"Princess, are you sure you want to go to the guild today? We can just stay here all day and do naughty stuff, you know?" Loke sat down beside Lucy on her bed; unfazed by the death glare she just gave the gaudy spirit.

"Loke, you and I both know that Fairy Tail's my home," Lucy stood up and walked toward the window, looking at the beautiful scene outside her small-but-comfy apartment. "Despite what they're doing, they're still my family. I could never hate them."

"You can't. But I certainly can."

Lucy turned around and saw Loke standing behind her with a scowl on his handsome face and his arms crossed in front of his heaving chest. _"He really does look like a lion,"_ she thought to herself as a soft giggle escaped her mouth.

"What's so funny?" Loke looked at her, still scowling.

"Nothing," Lucy replied and walked towards the door. She yanked it open and glanced back at her still fuming spirit standing in the middle of her room. "Loke, you coming or not?"

"Fine. But I'm not taking a step inside that place. My shoes will get dirty."

* * *

The guild doors opened and Lucy made her way toward the bar where Mira was busy serving Gajeel and Lily. She sat on the stool beside the Iron Dragon Slayer and gave him a warm smile. "Hey Gajeel," she greeted him before looking at Lily and patting the black Exceed's head. "Good morning, Lily."

"Hey, bunny girl." Gajeel didn't even look at her and just continued eating his metal scraps. Lily on the other hand, slightly blushed from the simple act and gave her a curt nod.

" _Well, at least they're acknowledging my existence."_ Lucy thought to herself before looking at the barmaid standing in front of her.

"Good morning, Lucy!" Mira greeted her with her usual warm smile. "You're quite early today. What can I get you?"

"Just the usual, thanks Mira." After Mira left, Lucy turned around and saw the familiar guild hall of Fairy Tail she learned to love and respect despite the recent events. Everyone's busy with their own lives: Gray running away from Juvia while unintentionally stripping off his clothes, Erza eating a rather huge piece of cake on a corner, Levy reading a new book, Elfman taunting the other guys into fighting him, Cana gulping down an entire barrel of alcohol, and Laxus sitting quietly on his place on the balcony.

Then her eyes found _him._ Natsu was sitting on a table, happily chatting with Lissana. From a normal person's point of view, the two of them looked like they're just having a friendly chatter. But Lucy knew better. She knew Natsu was cheating on her.

Yes, Natsu and she is an item. They've been together for five months now. It was Lucy's birthday when Natsu confessed to her. Surprised wasn't even enough to describe what she felt that time. The great Natsu Dragneel – the infamous Salamander of Fairy Tail just told her that he's in love with her!

Eventually, Lucy gave Natsu her approval and the two of them officially became an item, much to Mira and the rest of the guild's astonishment. Natsu showed Lucy that he's not the dumb teenager everyone thinks he is. He's actually very caring and considerate when they're out on their rare dates. But alas, not every story has a good ending.

Three months ago, Lissana 'came back from the dead' per se. Everyone was ecstatic, especially Natsu. The entire guild partied for about an entire week before the Mayor of Magnolia himself asked them to stop because they're causing too much noise every night.

After that, Natsu began spending more time with Lissana. Not only Natsu, but also Gray, Erza, Levy, and even Wendy. Hell, the entire guild was fussing over Lissana! The more time they spent together, the more Lucy was shoved to the background. Eventually, Lucy just learned to accept that she was nothing but a replacement for Lissana. And now that Lissana's back, she's not needed anymore. Team Natsu does not need her anymore. Fairy Tail does not need her anymore. Natsu does not need her anymore.

Surprisingly though, Natsu never broke up with her. She kept waiting and waiting for the Fire Dragon Slayer to just approach her and say "Luce, let's break up," but it never happened. However, something else happened. Something more painful than the thought of Natsu breaking up with her.

It was raining that day and Lucy was running home after spending the entire day chatting with Gajeel and Mira – the only two people in the entire guild who were still talking to her. She spotted the familiar shortcut towards her apartment and quickly bolted towards the path. That's when she saw them.

Lucy wasn't exactly sure what Natsu and Lissana were talking about, but one thing's for certain – they're having an argument. When Lucy saw Lissana cry, she decided to approach the two and give Natsu a piece of her mind for making a girl cry. She was only a few steps away from them when Natsu did to Lissana what he never did to Lucy. He kissed her. And Lissana kissed him back.

Lucy wasn't exactly sure what happened after that. The last thing she remembered was getting home, sitting down on the edge of her bed, and crying her heart out. She felt warm arms embracing her and she instantly knew that it was Loke. His familiar scent giving him away. She cried in Loke's chest for what seemed like hours before finally falling asleep.

"Lucy?"

Lucy broke away from her thoughts and turned around to see Mira's worried look. She gave the barmaid a warm smile and took the strawberry shake from her hand. "Thanks for this, Mira." The barmaid gave her one last look before nodding and walking away.

"Hey bunny girl," Gajeel was now looking at her with intense eyes, making her squirm a little. "Do yourself a favor and leave that idiot."

Lucy flinched. "What?"

"That flame idiot's in love with that new girl. Are 'ya blind or something?"

Looking down on her lap, Lucy let her bangs cover her face before replying. "I saw them kissing one time." Tears falling down from her eyes as the painful memory once again filled her mind. "That was three months ago. He's been cheating on me for three months now and I'm still too afraid to do anything."

"You're not afraid. You're just an idiot." Gajeel stood up with Lily and left the still-crying Celestial Mage alone to her problem. Deep inside, she knew Gajeel was right. She already knew about Natsu cheating on her for a long time now but still, she never did anything. She remained quiet and act like nothing happened. And it's not just with Natsu. Even the way everyone's been treating her. She just sulked in a corner and pretended like everything's okay. _Gajeel's right. I am totally an idiot._

Nobody wants her there anymore so why stay? Why give them the satisfaction of knowing that she's suffering because of them? No, she won't let them hurt her anymore. Without another word, Lucy marched towards Master Makarov's office with only one thing in mind – leaving Fairy Tail for good. Everyone's busy with whatever they were doing so she thought nobody would notice her as usual. But somebody did. A pair of striking blue eyes noticed her determined strides as she approached the Master's room.

* * *

"Laxus, is everything alright?"

Closing his eyes, Laxus gave Freed a grunt and returned his attention towards the ruckus happening below the guild. _Something big is about to happen,_ Laxus thought to himself as he remembered the look on the busty blonde's eyes. _I have a bad feeling about this._

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Is it too short? I usually write at least 10-pages long chapters. Meh, guess the cold's getting into me. It's raining VERY hard here by the way. I promise the next chapters will be longer.

PS: I'm torn between LaLu and CoLu.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Finally! A longer chapter! Congrats, me! As always, R and R! Kudos!

BrokenPiecesOfHell - I am so down with a harem! Harem ftw!  
Lukas Le Stelle - I'm sorry for making you choose between Laxus and Cobra! It's just they're both hot and I can't decide by myself. *pouts*

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – The Serpent's Venom**

"Master, I want to leave Fairy Tail. Permanently." Lucy, with strength and determination in her brown eyes, stared at Master Makarov. She steeled her nerves and repeated the chant ' _I can do this! I can do this! I can do this!'_ over and over again inside her head.

"But – but why, my child? What made you decide to leave the guild?" Master Makarov was teary-eyed when he asked her and she can't help but feel guilty for leaving the man who welcomed her with open arms the first day she arrived at Fairy Tail.

Biting her lower lip, Lucy kept her emotions reined and replied. "I want to get stronger. I don't want to be a burden to anyone anymore. Team Natsu is always there to save me so unknowingly, I kept relying on them. I'm tired of being saved, Master. I want to do the saving, this time."

Lying was never Lucy's greatest strength. But what she just told Master Makarov was slightly true. She did want to get stronger, but not to save anyone. She wanted to get stronger to show everyone in Fairy Tail what they're missing. _"I'll show them what a Celestial Spirit Mage can really do!"_

"If that's what you really want my child, then who am I to disagree." Master Makarov held Lucy's hands in his and gave her a weak smile. "What kind of a parent am I if I keep my own child from chasing her dreams?"

"Master …" This time, Lucy let the tears fall from her eyes. Her real father never loved her; treated her like she never existed. This man in front of her, Master Makarov, became her second father. He showed her what it feels like to have a father. She raised both of their hands to her eyes and poured her heart out for the last time. "I'm sorry Master. I'm really sorry."

* * *

"Princess, the preparations are complete. Do I need to be punished?" Virgo asked with her usual bland tone and uninterested face.

"No Virgo, no punishment. But thank you for your help. You may go back now." With a bow, Virgo disappeared, leaving Lucy alone in her apartment. Sitting on her bed, she glanced around her now empty room. She could still see Natsu and Happy sleeping quietly on her bed, Gray eating the ice cream she desperately tried to hide, and Erza lounging on her couch. " _No, I can't think about them anymore,"_ Lucy chastised herself.

"Keep frowning like that and you'll never have a boyfriend."

Looking up, Lucy saw Loke standing in front of her with a grin on his stupid face. "Shut up, Loke."

"But worry not, princess," Loke sat beside her on the bed and put an arm on her shoulder. "because I can always be your boyfriend if you want."

"No thank you," Lucy replied. "I am not into lions."

"But this lion can teach you lots of stuff, Princess!" Lucy scooted away when Loke inched his face closer to hers. "Do you know that lions can have sex up to 50 times a day for 4 days and nights in a row?"

Lucy felt a blush creeping up her face at Loke's rather unimportant information. She's already used to Loke's gaudy attitude, but still … she's just a girl and as much as she hated to admit it, Loke's a very, VERY handsome man.

"Thinking about a particular lion, princess?" Loke's voice broke her train of thoughts.

With a defeated sigh, Lucy pulled out Loke's key and pointed it towards the man sitting beside her. "Loke, Force Gate Closure."

"What?! No fair! Princess!" With a bright light, Loke returned to the Spirit World.

Now that the gaudy Lion was gone, Lucy let herself fall on top of her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her ceiling was covered with glowing constellation toys. All twelve of the zodiacs were there, together with a few she couldn't recognize. Thinking about her spirits, she couldn't help but ponder why they're so weird. Virgo's a masochist wearing a maid costume, Sagittarius is an archer wearing a horse headdress, Aquarius obviously has anger management issues, and Loke obviously needs to get laid.

" _We only mirror your inner desires, princess."_ It was Virgo's voice inside her head.

" _I need to get laid? Want to be my partner, princess?"_ It was Loke's voice.

" _I have anger management issues?! Do you wanna get killed, brat?!"_ Aquarius shouted.

" _I am quite fond of this headdress, moshi-moshi!"_ Sagittarius reasoned.

She finally realized the answer to her earlier questions. All her spirits are weird because she's weird.

* * *

YOU'VE NOW REACHED WROCLAW.

The voice of the intercom woke Lucy up from her slumber. Looking outside the train's window, she noticed that it was already dusk. By now, the sky was adorned with a beautiful shade of orange, blue, and black, giving way to the slow appearance of the moon and the stars.

When she got off the train, she pulled out Loke's key and summoned him.

"Finally!" Loke exclaimed, stretching his back and arms. "By the way, I'm still angry at you for closing my gate while we were having a moment."

Lucy just rolled her eyes at him and continued walking along the illuminated path. Looking around, Lucy can't help but be amazed at the sheer beauty of Wroclaw, especially during the night. The streets were buzzing with people, beautiful lanterns and streetlights adorned the pathways, and there were food stalls on every corner. Lucy can't help but smile at the overwhelming sight.

After a few moments of sightseeing, Lucy and Loke decided to spend the night at a local hotel. Loke, being … well, Loke, managed to 'talk' the lady receptionist into giving them one of the best rooms in the hotel. Lucy just rolled her eyes when the gaudy lion gave her a thumbs up.

When they finally reached their room, Loke asked her permission to momentarily return to the Spirit World so she could recharge her magic. Lucy was just about to take a step when a bright light appeared in front of her and Loke once again appeared. "Missed me already, princess?"

"I'll have you know, you were gone for about … 3 seconds." Lucy walked past the grinning Loke and sat on the bed's edge. "What now, Loke?"

Loke gave her a reassuring smile before kneeling in front of her, holding both her hands. "Now we look for a new family, princess."

" _A new family, huh?"_ For a while, Lucy considered Fairy Tail as her family. She thought of Natsu and the others as her brothers and sisters. Clearly the feeling wasn't mutual. Loke suggested they look for a new family. A new guild. What if they're like Fairy Tail? What if one day, everyone decided to just ignore her? To forget she even existed? How long will it be this time – four months? A year?

"Princess," Loke's voice brought her back to reality. "It's going to be okay. I'll always be here. We, your spirits, will always be here. We promise."

"Thank you, Loke." Lucy wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on the crook of his neck, inhaling his familiar scent. "Thank you for everything."

"We love you, princess. Always remember that."

* * *

"Princess, it's time to wake up." Lucy felt a pair of hands shaking her shoulders.

"Ugh, five more minutes."

"If we stay for five more minutes, we have to pay an additional 500 jewels."

"WHAT?!" Without another word, Lucy ran towards the bathroom and took a quick bath. She quickly got dressed and literally dragged Loke out of their room towards the reception area. When they came face to face with the receptionist, Loke stepped in front of her and she let him do his little magic. Again.

When Loke was finished, he told her that he managed to 'talk' the receptionist into forgetting about the excess time of their stay, which would've cost them around 700 jewels. _"What a smooth talker,"_ Lucy thought to herself.

After their little hotel escapade, they asked around town about the local guild and they found out that there is no guild in Wroclaw. Apparently, the entire town is under the protection of the Royal Army so they have no need for a guild anymore. The mayor pays the Royal Guards and the Royal Guards protect them, both from bandits and monsters.

"So no one posts job requests or things like that?" Lucy asked a female civilian.

"Oh, you want to take job requests? Then I suggest you go to the local tavern. There are requests there that only Mages can handle." The female civilian looked around before whispering in her ear. "The Royal Guards here don't really do anything. They just loaf around with their huge bellies and rusted swords. The Mages are still the ones doing the hard work. I really wish we have a guild here."

After thanking the kind woman, Lucy and Loke made their way towards the local tavern where supposedly, other Mages would be looking for jobs. Once inside, she quickly spotted the job board and dragged Loke towards it. "Look, Loke! This one pays 300,000 jewels just by exterminating some monsters down the sewers! Easy money, right?!"

"Sewers?" Loke looked at his newly-shined designer shoes. "Do we have to? It smells awful there, princess. I don't want my suit to smell like crap and my shoes to step on anything ."

"How about I come along with you, fairy?"

" _That voice!_ " Turning around, Lucy came face to face with a familiar face. A scar on his right eye, a snake-like tongue, and a head full of spiky maroon hair. Lucy knew only one person with those characteristics and just realizing who he was sent shivers down her spine. "Cobra."

"It's a pleasure seeing you again, fairy."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Booyah! Finally, Cobra's here! I really hate calling him Cobra 'cause I like his real name more (Eric). Next chapter will be full of CoLu! Stay tuned!


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! As promised, here's a bit longer chapter. And a lot more CoLu to boot! Yay! A big thank you to all those who followed and reviewed this story of mine. R and R as always. Kudos!

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Wroclaw Sewers**

"What are you doing here, Cobra?" Lucy glared at the Poison Dragon Slayer; ignoring the few curious looks the other Mages were giving them. Cobra was a member of Oracion Seis – one of the three dark guilds under the now-disbanded Balam Alliance. Cobra, along with his guild mates Angel, Racer, Hoteye, Midnight, and Zero tried to use Nirvana to take over the world. Fairy Tail however, and the rest of the Allied Forces managed to stop them before they succeeded.

"Reminiscing, aren't we?"

Breaking away from her thoughts, Lucy returned her attention to the man standing in front of her. Cobra still looked the same – well, except for the obvious scar on his face. He also grew taller and his shoulders now broader. _"He's actually a bit handsome now,"_ Lucy immediately regretted thinking about Cobra like that because afterwards, she saw him grinning at her like an idiot. "You heard that, didn't you?"

"So you think I'm handsome, huh?" Cobra asked her with a grin plastered on his stupid face.

"Sh-shut up, Cobra!" Lucy stammered, her face turning crimson red from embarrassment. But Lucy being … well, Lucy, never backs down from a fight. Taking a deep breath, she put her left hand on her waist while the other was pointing at Cobra. "So what if you're more handsome now? Loke's still more handsome than you! Hell, even Taurus is more handsome than you!"

As if he didn't hear her, Cobra just continued grinning at her. His left eye sparkling with amusement as if he just found a new toy to play with. _"Ugh, why does it have to him? Why can't I meet Hibiki instead? I'll even take Ichiya over this freak,"_ Lucy thought with a sigh.

"Stop thinking too much, woman. It's giving me a headache." As if to prove his point, Cobra closed his eyes and started massaging his temples.

"Why do you want to go with me, anyway?" Lucy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you fucking serious, woman? That's 300,000 instant jewels just for killing some weak monsters down that wretched sewer. Even if we split the reward, we'd still have 150,000 jewels each. I don't know about you but I think it's a great deal."

Lucy pondered about what Cobra just said. True, 150,000 jewels is still a huge amount of money, but even without Cobra, killing a few monsters down the sewer would still be easy for her and her spirits. " _Well, except for Loke because he's a bit obsessed about his clothes."_

There's also the issue of trusting Cobra. She still wasn't sure how the ex-member of Oracion Seis managed to escape the Magic Council. And why was he in Wroclaw anyway? Could she trust this man to watch her back when the time comes? What if Cobra still holds a grudge against Fairy Tail? Taking one last look at the man in question, Lucy's eyes met Cobra's. _"What are you really after, Cobra?"_

Knowing full well that Cobra could read her mind, he replied. "A new life."

* * *

The entrance to the sewer was located on the suburban area of Wroclaw. The inside was surprisingly big and the paths were illuminated by lacrima. And unlike what Loke believed, it didn't smell bad at all. There were bugs and bats roaming around though, much to Lucy's dismay.

So far, they haven't encountered any monster. Lucy thought the moment they stepped inside the sewer, monsters would be swarming them. Obviously, she was wrong. They've been walking for about an hour now and still no monster was in sight. Lucy was the one with the map so she was walking in front of a bored Cobra. Cobra's been quiet all the time but she could tell that the man was bored to death judging from his constant yawning.

" _Ugh, this is boring,"_ Lucy heaved a sigh and glanced at the man walking behind him.

At first, Lucy was hesitant about Cobra coming along with her. After all, the man did try to kill her and her friends once. But somehow, Lucy knew that Cobra wouldn't hurt her this time. Call it a Celestial Spirit Mage's intuition, but Lucy was confident … no, she was certain that Cobra wouldn't betray her. Not this time.

Loke on the other hand, kept telling her that bringing along Cobra wasn't a good plan. She knew that Loke was only looking out for her well-being, but she's the type to listen to her gut. And her gut told her to give Cobra a shot at redemption. So she did.

She was never the type to hold a grudge to begin with. There were Jella, Gajeel, Juvia, Sting, Rogue, and even Flare. All of them used to be Fairy Tail's enemies but now, all of them were friends. Cobra wasn't an exception to that. _"If he wants to change, then who am I to stop him?"_

"You're thinking too much again, woman."

A smile tugged on Lucy's lips as she was pulled away from her thoughts by Cobra's deep voice. "Sorry, Cobra," she smiled apologetically. "Just thinking about random stuff."

"Random stuff my ass." Cobra crossed his arm in front of his chest and gave Lucy a death glare. "Stop thinking about me. Are you in love with me or something?"

"Wha- a-are you an idiot?! Who would fall in love with you, you jerk!" Lucy stomped her foot and increased her pace, leaving a grinning Cobra behind.

"Tch. Women." Cobra soon followed behind Lucy, his eyes never leaving her.

* * *

Three hours. They've been walking around the sewer for three hours now and Cobra's feet were starting to get sore. A Dragon Slayers' stamina was top notch, but it's mostly reserved for fighting, not for walking along a wretched sewer.

"Gah! This is a bogus job! There are no monsters here!" Lucy shouted out of nowhere, hurting Cobra's ears a bit. "That's it. We're going back!"

Before Cobra could even chastise her about shouting near him, he felt something warm on his left hand. When he looked down, he saw Lucy's hand holding his, pulling him along with her as she stomped her way out of the sewer. It was a foreign feeling for Cobra. It was both relaxing and terrifying at the same time. No one has ever dared hold his hand like that. They were just too afraid to get close to him. After all, who would want to get close to a person who could read their thoughts and owns … owned, a giant flying snake?

But somehow, Lucy wasn't afraid of him. She trusted him the moment he told her that he wants to start anew. He wasn't lying when he said that, though. After the dragons' attack during the Eclipse, the Magic Council decided to give Cobra one more shot. They agreed to set him free in exchange for him joining a new guild and doing quests and such. He was still adamant about not joining a new guild, though.

Ever since he saw her, he's been constantly listening to her thoughts. He knew that she left Fairy Tail because of that Fire Dragon Slayer, that she plans to get stronger by training with her spirits, and that just like him, she was having second thoughts about joining a new guild.

"Cobra?" Lucy's voice broke this train of thoughts.

"What?" He replied.

"What the hell is that?" Using his enhanced sense of sight, Cobra looked to what Lucy was pointing at. Along the far edge of the sewer, several purple-colored slimes were approaching them. They didn't have eyes, just a huge gaping mouth. Their bodies were composed of transparent jelly-like stuff and inside, he could clearly see bones floating around.

"This is bad." Without another word, Cobra carried Lucy princess-style and ran away from the mob of slimes.

"What are you doing, Cobra?! Put me down!" Lucy struggled in his arms, trying to hide her embarrassment by assaulting him instead.

"Stop it, woman. Those things over there are called _Venom Slimes_. Their poisons are so powerful, your skin will melt just by being near them," Cobra explained.

"Oh," finally Lucy stopped struggling. "Th-thank you then. You know … for not leaving me."

"Do not thank me yet, woman. If Venom Slimes are here then that means this sewer's their nest. And if there's a nest, there's a queen. And no queen would left her nest unprotected."

"Then that means …"

"Yeah. We're screwed."

* * *

"Cobra! Over there!" Lucy pointed to a group of Venom Slimes approaching them from the rear.

"Poison Dragon's Roar!" Cobra's attack completely destroyed the slimes but a few seconds later, a new batch of Venom Slimes appeared. "Damn it!"

They've been running around the sewer for at least an hour now. Even with a map, they couldn't just march right out the exit because of the Venom Slimes blocking their path. Even the path that they took earlier was now filled with Venom Slimes.

They somehow ended up on the inner part of the sewer where the water's a bit deep. Venom Slimes were showing up everywhere: on the ceilings, on the walls, and out of the water. They managed to kill a few of them but the others, they just avoided completely to save what little magic they had left.

She tried summoning her spirits earlier to help Cobra fend off the purple slimes. Loke and Virgo couldn't even get close to the Venom Slimes without getting poisoned, Sagittarius' arrows would melt even before they reach their targets, Aquarius refused to be summoned in sewer waters, and Scorpio was currently out of commission thanks to Aquarius. She also tried to use her _Fleuve d'etoiles_ to attack but her whip would just bounce off the Venom Slimes.

"Oi, woman! Be careful!" Lucy heard Cobra calling for her and from the corner of her eyes, she saw a Venom Slime jumping towards her. Immediately, she jumped away from the monster and fell on the sewer waters. She heard Cobra shouting her name before the dark waters completely overtook her consciousness.

* * *

"Oi woman! Open your eyes!"

Lucy felt strong hands gripping her shoulders and shaking the living daylights out of her.

"Woman! Damn it, stop sleeping on the damn floor!"

Opening her eyes, Lucy saw Cobra's face looking down at her. Images of what happened earlier flooded her mind and her eyes immediately scanned the entire area, looking for Venom Slimes. When she was sure that there were no monsters nearby, she finally let herself relax. "What happened, Cobra?"

"Tch." Cobra moved away from her and sat crossed-leg near the wall. "You fell on the water, I saved you, I killed all the monsters. Is that a good enough explanation, woman?"

Cobra saved her? Lucy looked at him and saw that he's soaking wet. Even his usually spiky hair was damped and covering his face. Then Lucy looked at her own clothes and realized that she wasn't any better. Her own clothes were wet and filled with black gooey stuff. _"Now I know why Loke hates sewers,"_ Lucy thought to herself as she started removing the foreign objects from her clothes.

"By the way," Lucy stopped at what she was doing and looked at Cobra. "You were holding that thing the entire time I was saving you." Cobra pointed to a shining object near her feet. "I tried yanking it away from your hand but the damn thing burned my hand."

Looking down, Lucy's eyes widened when she saw what Cobra was pointing at. "A key!"

Lucy immediately picked it up and ignored Cobra's warning about it being 'hot'. Sure, the key felt warm in her hands but it wasn't hot enough to hurt her. Taking a closer look, she noticed that the key was color black. The tip was shaped like a bird's beak while the bow was shaped like two crossed wings. It was the same size as the rest of her keys but somehow, it felt heavier.

"You done ogling that key?"

Lucy nodded at Cobra and put the black key on her belt together with the rest of her keys. She pulled out Sagittarius' key and summoned the archer before the three of them continued their search for a way out of the sewer.

* * *

After continuously running for hours, they eventually found a hidden spot where there were no Venom Slimes, so Lucy took the opportunity to unsummon Sagittarius and refresh her magic reserves.

"Shit." Lucy heard Cobra mutter under his breath.

Pulling her legs close to her chest, Lucy looked down on the floor and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"What?" Cobra immediately replied.

"I'm sorry for being a burden. If I'm a lot stronger, we wouldn't be in this mess. I'm – " Lucy finally let the tears fall down from her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Cobra."

"Hey, woman."

Lucy slightly raised her head and looked at Cobra's stoic face.

"Stop apologizing. If you want to make it up to me, then get stronger. You left your guild to get stronger, right? Then shut the fuck up, stop crying, and start using that brain of yours to get us out of here."

Lucy was taken aback. Cobra just gave her an encouragement speech! Not exactly the warm encouragement speech Natsu used to give her, but beggars can't be choosers, right? Besides, Cobra wasn't probably used to encouraging other people. After all, he used to be a member of Oracion Seis. With renewed determination, Lucy wiped her tears using her right hand and looked at Cobra. "Cobra … no. Eric, thank you."

"Tch. Shut up and start thinking, woman." Lucy was pretty sure she saw Eric's face turning a slight bit of red and she couldn't help but chuckle.

Looking at her keys, she remembered about the new key she acquired earlier. _"Maybe this one can help us."_ Pulling out the black key, Lucy stood up and called forth the Spirit residing within the key with a chant.

 _I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits!_

 _Now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate!_

When Lucy opened her eyes, a small orb of flame was floating in front of her. She expected something big and a little weird to come out of the key but instead, a small floating ball of hot gas did. Feeling rather disappointed, she heaved a sigh.

"Well that was anticlimactic." Lucy turned around and saw Cobra looking at her and the little fireball with a bored look on his face.

"Don't remind me," Lucy rolled her eyes at him and returned her attention to the small fire spirit. "Um, fireball-san? Do you wanna make a contract with me?"

" _Fireball-san?"_ Lucy heard a deep, baritone voice inside her head. _"Did you just call me fireball-san, you wretched girl?!"_

The fireball in front of Lucy flickered a couple of times, changing colors from red to orange before finally exploding into a great burst of light. Lucy and Cobra had to cover their eyes or risk being blinded by the sudden flash. After the light shimmered down, Lucy looked back at the fireball but instead, found a red-headed man frowning at her with his arms crossed in front of his bare chest. "F-fireball-san?"

"Call me fireball-san one more time and I swear I'll burn you to a crisp." Lucy was a bit taken aback by the spirit's hostility but still remained composed as to not show any weakness.

"You can try, redhead. But I think we have more important matters to discuss right now. Do you wanna make a contract or not?" Lucy bravely replied.

With a raised eyebrow, the redhead replied. "Icarus."

"What?"

"Call me Icarus. And sure, I would love to make a contract with you." Icarus grinned at her. "But I have some conditions, girly."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And that's a wrap! I might upload a new chapter today. Depends on my mood. Lol. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! Um, just to make things clear, I am not turning Lucy into an overpowered wizard. I'm just giving her new Spirits to make things more interesting. She will still fight with her Spirits. That's all. That being said, please enjoy this chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Realization**

"Hey, gramps."

Master Makarov stopped what he was currently doing (reading complaints about Fairy Tail as usual) and raised his head to look at his grandson – Laxus' face. "What is it, Laxus?"

"What happened to blondie?"

Makarov's eyes widened. He figured someone from Fairy Tail would soon notice that Lucy was gone, but he never expected that someone to be his own grandson. After all, Laxus never showed interest to anyone before, especially the Celestial Spirit Mage. When did Laxus get so inquisitive? What changed?

"Gramps?"

Blinking away his thoughts, Makarov looked back at his grandson and replied with a sad voice. "My boy … Lucy left Fairy Tail."

"Left? What do you mean?" Laxus' eyes were unto him, waiting for him to explain what he just said.

With a defeated sigh, Makarov reclined on his chair before replying. "Lucy came to me a few days ago and told me that she wants to leave the guild. She said she wants to get stronger, but I had a feeling that she was lying to me."

"Then why did you let her leave?" Laxus' voice had a hint of anger.

"My boy, Lucy made a decision. It's not mine, nor anyone's place to stop her from doing whatever she wants to do. And besides, I trust her. Lucy Heartfilia is, and will always be, a Fairy Tail mage after all."

That time, Laxus remained quiet. Makarov could see his grandson trying to process what he just said. His fist clenching and unclenching as if he was trying to contain his anger. _"What is it about Lucy that makes you like that, Laxus?"_

"What are you going to tell the others?" Laxus finally asked him after a couple of minutes.

"Nothing," Makarov's short reply. "I won't tell those idiots anything. They have to realize by themselves that one of their nakama is gone. Only then will I tell them that Lucy left Fairy Tail."

"Suit yourself." Laxus turned around and closed the door behind him, leaving Makarov all by himself.

* * *

Leaning forward on his usual spot at the Balcony, Laxus' eyes scanned the entire guild below him. He saw Gray and Natsu bickering at each other as usual, Erza eating a strawberry cake on a corner, Levy reading a book with Jet and Droy beside her, Mira and Kinana serving orders behind the bar, Cana gulping down what seemed to be her third barrel of alcohol, and Elfman chatting with his youngest sister, Lissana.

From a different person's perspective, it was just a normal day at Fairy Tail: loud, rowdy, and disorganized. But it wasn't. Something's amiss and only Laxus and his old man knew what. Lucy Heartfilia left Fairy Tail. Laxus was actually surprised that no one from Team Natsu noticed that one of their members was gone. Its as if all three of them (Erza, Gray, and Natsu) forgot that Lucy even existed. Even the talking cat seemed to forget about her.

When Laxus saw Natsu walking towards Lissana, he realized that everyone forgetting Lucy started when the youngest Strauss returned from Edolas. _"That was three months ago,"_ Laxus thought to himself. After Lissana 'returned from the dead', the entire guild partied for weeks. He could still faintly remember a blonde girl sitting alone at the bar that time because everyone was busy catching up with Lissana.

That was the last time he actually paid attention to the Celestial Spirit Mage.

"Laxus? Is there something wrong?"

Without even looking at Evergreen, he answered. "Hey Ever. When was the last time you saw that blondie?"

"Blondie?" Evergreen looked at him as if he just asked her a dumb question. "As far as I can remember, you're the only blonde mage in Fairy Tail, Laxus."

"Tch. Think, Ever. Who was that blonde chick on Team Natsu? The one who defeated Bixlow? The Celestial Spirit Mage?"

Evergreen seemed to ponder about the information for a moment, tapping her lips while thinking. Finally, after a few silent moments, Evergreen's eyes widened as if realization just hit her. She quickly ran downstairs towards the bar where Mira was talking with Gajeel and Lily. "Where's Lucy?"

"So you guys finally noticed, huh?" Laxus heard Gajeel respond to Ever's question. "Took 'ya long enough."

"Wha-what do you mean?" Ever asked Gajeel with a quivering voice.

"What that bastard's trying to say is that Lucy Heartfilia quit Fairy Tail." Laxus voice echoed throughout the entire guild hall, catching everyone's attention. Noticing that everyone's eyes were on him now, he continued. "According to gramps, blondie asked if she could leave the guild because she wants to get stronger."

Eyes widened at the mention of the Celestial Spirit Mage's name. Natsu and Gray stopped fighting, Erza dropped the cake she was eating, Levy looked up from the book she was reading, Cana put down her glass, and the remaining members of Fairy Tail looked at each other as if they just remembered Lucy's existence.

"What?!" Erza's enraged voice surprised everyone. "Why would she do something like that?! Lucy's already a strong mage, why does she have to - "

"Obviously, she was lying." Gajeel cut Erza off before she could even finish.

"Do you know something, Gajeel?" It was Levy. "Please tell us what you know."

"Tch. I hate long stories so I'll just make this short," Gajeel's eyes scanned the entire guild, making sure that everyone was present before he continued. "Bunny girl left because of two reasons: One, you all fucking ignored her for three months. It's like you just forgot she even existed. And two, I think Salamader and his new girlfriend over there can explain."

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on Natsu and Lissana. Laxus wasn't stupid by any means, so putting the two piece together, he already knew the second reason why Lucy left Fairy Tail. In an instant, he was standing in front of a wide-eyed Natsu. Lightning was crackling from his fists as he grabbed the Fire Dragon Slayer by the scarf and lifted him up in the air. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"Laxus! Stop it!" Laxus felt hands trying to pull him away, but he wasn't having any of it. He shoved away whoever was pulling him and let lightning engulf his entire body. He was prepared to kill.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Hearing his old man's voice, Laxus dropped Natsu on the floor and dispersed the lightning surrounding his body. Giving Natsu a final look of disgust, he returned to his spot on the balcony along with the rest of the Thunder God Tribe.

"Gramps, is it true?" Natsu's almost inaudible voice broke the silence. "Did Luce really left?"

"Yes." Master Makarov replied without any hesitation. "As for the real reason why she left, only she can answer that. However, there is one thing I'm certain of - all of you ignoring her for a long time is one of the reasons why she decided to permanently leave the guild."

"Permanently?" Levy's voice was shaking. He eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Lu-chan's not coming back?"

"No, my child. Lucy's not coming back."

* * *

 _"Luce is not coming back?"_ Natsu's mind couldn't comprehend what Master Makarov just said. His chest was hurting just by thinking that he wouldn't be seeing Lucy's smiles anymore. He took a glance at Lissana and saw his childhood friend covering her mouth, trying desperately to hold in a sob. But it wasn't just Lissana. Erza, Wendy, Levy, Mira, and even Gray ... they were all crying. And it's all because of him.

He had a feeling that Lucy already knew about that kiss between him and Lissana. He wanted to tell her about it; explain to her that it was a goodbye kiss. That Lissana was letting him go. But fear got the better of him. He was afraid of Lucy's reaction. In the end, he never got to tell her. And now Lucy's gone.

"Natsu." Looking down, he saw Happy clinging to his leg, eyes filled with tears. "Lucy ... she's .. she's ..." Happy couldn't even finish his sentence and just continued crying.

Natsu's heart was breaking. It's the same feeling as when Igneel left him when he was just a kid.

It's happening all over again. Natsu's being left alone.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I know, I know, this chapter's a bit short. I just want everyone to see what happened back at Fairy Tail after Lucy left. Next chapter will resume Lucy's adventures. A big shout out to all my followers and constant readers! Don't forget to R and R! Peace!


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes:** Thank you all so much for all the reviews you've given me! I'm still torn between LaLu and CoLu though. *bangs head on the table*

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – Escape the Sewers!**

"Call me Icarus. And sure, I would love to make a contract with you." Icarus grinned at her. "But I have some conditions, girly."

"What conditions?" Somehow, Lucy knew that Icarus wouldn't make a contract with her that easily. She could feel the anger and animosity radiating from those amber eyes staring down at her. She was tempted to look away from him, to escape his blazing gaze, but Lucy knew that doing so would not be acceptable. She didn't want to look weak in front of the arrogant redhead Spirit.

With a devious smile on his face, Icarus answered. "First, I want you to give me permission to open my gate by myself. Unlike your cheap golden keys, us black keys cannot open our gates by ourselves. Think of it as a curse of some sorts. Second, you cannot force me to do anything I don't like. I am not going to waste a drop of my precious magic if I don't want to. Lastly, I want the right to refuse being summoned if I don't want to. Those are my conditions, girly. Take it or leave it."

 _"What a pain in the ass! He's even more high-maintenance than Loke!"_ Lucy's hands were itching to strangle the arrogant redhead in front of her.

"That reminds me," Icarus continued. "I am very busy during Fridays so don't even think about summoning me during that day. I'm also unavailable during Mondays and Wednesdays because I hate those days."

 _"He's enjoying this! He's definitely enjoying this!"_ Lucy whined inside her head.

"So?" Icarus extended his right hand and offered it to Lucy. "Do we have a deal, girly?"

With a defeated sigh, Lucy accepted his hand and gave it a firm shake. "Fine. We have a deal. And my name isn't girly, it's Lucy."

Flashing Lucy his arrogant smile, Icarus then pulled her close to his body and whispered close to her ear. "I look forward to working with you, LUCY."

A blush crept on Lucy's face after hearing Icarus whispering her name in a very sensual way. She was about to punch Icarus in the face and give him a piece of her mind when the redhead turned back into a small ball of flame before finally disappearing, leaving her alone with Erik.

* * *

"So what's the plan, woman?"

After Lucy finished her contract with Icarus, she returned her full attention to the task at hand - escaping the sewer. She was actually hoping for Icarus to help them in any way but unfortunately, the arrogant Spirit refused to be summoned again. Lucy kept trying to call him several times, until Icarus' angry voice boomed inside her head and said _"Can't you tell I'm tired, girly?! Try summoning me again one more time and I swear you won't be seeing my handsome face for a year!"_

 _"_ The plan is ..." Lucy tried to ransack her brain for any plan but the organ refused to cooperate with her. "What's the plan again?"

"Tch. And they said I'm the stupid one." Before Lucy could even give a smart comeback, Erik quickly stood up and and surveyed the area outside of their hiding spot. When he came back, he sat back in front of her and folded his arms in front of his chest. "I can hear her."

"Huh?" Lucy was confused. "Hear who? Me?"

"Her. The queen of the Venom Slimes."

"Oh." Lucy completely forgot about that little information. She was pretty sure Erik said something about a queen of some sorts but she was too busy running for her life so she completely ignored him back then. "And you're telling me this, why?"

Instead of responding, Erik just gave her a _are-you-an-idiot?_ look and closed his eyes. Lucy knew that Erik was thinking about something so instead of asking the Poison Dragon Slayer for answers, she focused on what Erik just told her. _"He said he heard her - the queen."_ Lucy followed what Erik was doing and closed her eyes, trying to fit the pieces together. _"This sewer is their nest and they have a queen. They follow the queen's orders, so if the queen dies, then ..."_

"I GOT IT!" Lucy felt a light bulb turning on above her head. "The only way we can get out of here is if we kill the queen!" Erik's eyes were on her now so she continued. "Those slimes aren't acting on their own, they were given orders. They've been trying to kill us because the queen ordered them to do so. So basically, what we need to do is find the queen and kill her!"

Lucy couldn't help but feel proud when she saw a smile forming on Erik's lips. Erik must have realized that killing the queen would be their ticket out of the sewer while she was forming a contract with Icarus, but instead of telling her directly, he waited for her to find the out the answer herself. He didn't spoon-feed her and she couldn't be more grateful to him for doing so.

"So let me ask you again, woman. What's the plan?"

* * *

"I open thee, Gate of the Twins! Gemini!"

A puff of blue smoke materialized in front of Lucy, slowly revealing two floating creatures - Gemi and Mini. The twin Spirits danced in front of Lucy and with their tiny voices, asked her why she summoned them.

"I need you to turn into Gray. You remember him, don't you?" Lucy asked the twin Spirits.

"Of course, we remember him! Piri!" Gemi answered.

"He's easy to copy because he's not wearing anything. Piri!" Mini followed.

Suddenly feeling worried that Gemini might transform into a naked Gray, Lucy clarified to the twin Spirits that Gray must be clothed when they transform into him. Thankfully, Gemini seemed to understand what Lucy told them because after Gemi and Mini combined, a fully-clothed Gray was standing in front of Lucy. _"Oh thank Mavis he's not naked."_

"So," Gray began. "What do you want me to do?"

Taking a quick glance at Erik, she replied. "The moment Erik and I step out of this spot, I want you to be our backup and freeze every Venom Slime that comes in our way. Erik will lead us to the queen and we need to help him in any way we can. Can you do that?"

"Hmp. Leave it to me." Gray responded.

"Then let's begin." Lucy looked back at Erik's silent form. "You ready?"

Without another word, Erik stood up and walked towards the entrance of their hiding spot. He gave Lucy and Gray one last glance before saying _"Let's go"_ , and three of them ran back to the main passageway of the sewer where an army of Venom Slime awaits them.

* * *

"Ice Make: Lance!"

"Poison Dragon's Roar!"

As expected, more and more Venom Slimes appeared the closer they get to the queen. They'd been running for almost an hour now and Lucy's feet were starting to get numb. Gray volunteered to carry her but she flat out refused because she knew that Erik needed all the help he could get. Erik also suggested that they stop for a while so she could rest but again, she declined because she didn't want to appear weak and helpless.

"Over here!"

Lucy quickly ran towards Erik with Gray close behind her. When Lucy and Gray entered the room, Erik quickly followed and shut the door behind him. Looking around, the room they were in appeared to be an old stock room. There were piles of boxes on the cabinets, a broom was sitting on the edge of the room, stock of papers were atop an old table, and spider webs filled the four corners of the small room.

"What are we going to do now?" Lucy asked no one in particular.

"We can try waiting for the Venom Slimes to leave." Gray suggested.

"There's no need for that." Erik approached the northern wall and pressed his ear close to it. "I can hear her. She's on the other side of this wall."

"Really?! Lucky!" Lucy pumped her fist in the air then looked at Gray with a huge grin. "Thank you for all your help, Gemini. You can go back now."

With a final bow, Gray (Gemini) disappeared in a blue smoke.

"You ready?" Erik asked her, his eyes focused on the wall in front of them.

"Ready."

Purple flames enveloped Erik's right hand before he punched the wall, completely destroying it. When the smoke from the debris finally disappeared, Lucy felt her heart stop at the scene in front her. In the middle of the huge room was a giant Venom Slime. But it looked different from the Venom Slimes they'd been killing so far. For one, it had tentacles protruding from its jelly-like body. It also had two giant eyeballs floating inside its body.

"Is that the queen?" Lucy managed to voice out.

"Yes." Erik went into a fighting stance. "We don't know how many Venom Slime are in here so be extra careful."

"I know." Lucy pulled out two gold keys from her belt and called forth their Spirits. "I open thee, Gate of the Bull! Taurus! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"

Taurus and Scorpio appeared beside Lucy and waited for her to give them orders. Erik, on the other hand, dashed towards the queen and delivered quick blows in succession. Erik's punches were definitely hitting the queen, but somehow she didn't even bulge. Around them, more Venom Slimes started to appear as if they felt that their queen's in danger.

Noticing that Erik's in a pinch, Lucy gave her two spirits the orders they were waiting for. "Taurus! Scorpio! Take care of the small fries! Don't let them get near Erik!"

Taurus began swinging his giant axe, decimating everything in its path, while Scorpio's Sand Buster instantly blew away twenty or more Venom Slimes. Lucy pulled out her whip and quickly ran towards Erik who was busy fighting with the queen. "Need a hand?"

"Physical attacks don't work on her." Erik evaded a tentacle before it almost flattened him to death. "The only thing that worked was my roar."

"Then let's finish her off with a magical attack! Taurus! Scorpio! Prepare for the combination attack!" The two Spirits quickly jumped in front of Lucy and faced the queen along with Erik. When Taurus launched himself towards the queen with his giant axe, Scorpio followed up by shooting the giant weapon with his Sand Buster. All of a sudden, Taurus' weapon was engulfed by Scorpio's raging sands. "Taurus! Now!"

"Moo! Take this! _SANDSTORM AXE ALDEBARAN!_ " Taurus smashed his giant axe to the ground and in an instant, four huge sand tornadoes appeared and sent all the remaining Venom Slimes flying in the air. The tornadoes converged towards the queen, trapping the giant slime in place while continuously barraging her with powerful sandstorms.

"Erik! Now!" Lucy saw the man run towards the trapped queen in full speed, both his hands engulfed by his Poison Magic.

When Erik reached the queen, Lucy willed for the sandstorm to disappear so Erik could land a hit. Erik moved his hands forward in a cross, forming snake-shaped masses of poison, all moving towards the staggering queen. _"POISON DRAGON'S TWIN FANG!"_ The attack hit the queen and blew off parts of her. She was about to regenerate again but Erik quickly followed up with another attack. He jumped on top of the queen and punched her head at point-blank range, releasing a burst of poison inside her. _"POISON DRAGON'S SHARP HORN!"_

Lucy couldn't help but be amazed and watch as Erik finally beat the slime queen to a pulp with that final attack. Seconds after the queen completely disappeared, the few remaining Venom Slimes began to crawl away from them, leaving a celebrating Lucy and a grinning Erik behind. Lucy thanked her two Spirits and unsummoned them afterwards before running towards Erik.

"Erik, we did it!" Before Lucy could even realize what she was doing, her arms were already on Erik's neck and she was jumping up and down like a little kid.

"Oi! Let go of me, woman!" Erik tried to push her away but she wasn't having any of it. She was too caught up in the moment to care about formalities and stuff. Pressing herself closer to him, she inhaled his unique scent and muttered something under her breath. She was pretty sure Erik heard her though because the man finally stopped squirming in her arms.

"Thank you, Erik."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** If you guys noticed, I changed Cobra's real name from "Eric" to "Erik" in this chapter. I just saw on FT Wiki today that that was the correct spelling of his name, so I apologize for the error on the previous chapters. *bows* As usual, R and R! Next chapter will introduce a couple of OCs. Bye!


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! Thank you all so much for all the great reviews you've given me. I really appreciate all of it. As I said on the previous chapter, Chapter 6 will introduce the OCs. Here they are:

 **1\. Aurion Armistice**

 _Appearance:_ Aurion is a slim man of average height with pale skin and spiky white hair framing his face and purple eyes. Aurion's outfit consists of a simple black vest with purple lining, two hexagon-shaped metal buttons in front, and an elaborate metal accessory attached to his left shoulder with a metal chain attached to the left part of his vest. Below it, Aurion wears a violet long-sleeves with high collar and intricate cuffs decorated by metal armbands. He also sports a pair of tight black leather pants held up by a violet belt with two metal accessories attached to both sides. He's also wearing a black metal choker, a pair of black metal gloves, and black shoes decorated by white-colored motifs.

 _Age:_ 19

 _Previous Affiliation:_ Aurion worked as a host and frequently covered Sorcerer Weekly.

 _Ability:_ Space Magic – Aurion, at will, can break through space and appear anywhere he desires. He's also an expert hand-to-hand combatant, thanks to Therron's training, making his Space Magic a great asset to his fighting style.

 _Personality:_ Just like Natsu, Aurion is carefree and reckless in nature.

 **2\. Therron Roue**

 _Appearance:_ Therron is a tall muscular man with black hair and silver eyes. His hair is kept short, ruffled, and spiked. He wears a black leather jacket with a fur collar and a white V-neck underneath. He wears a dark blue, denim jeans held up by a simple black belt, with a silver chain attached from the belt to his back pocket, additionally with black shoes to top off the rest of his outfit. Therron wears other accessories with his clothes, primarily a headphone sitting on his neck and a silver ring on his right ring finger.

 _Age:_ 21

 _Previous Affiliation:_ Therron was the leader of a local gang until he met Mathilda.

 _Ability:_ Amplification Magic - Therron is an expert hand-to-hand combatant. He's using his Amplification Magic to further enhance his physical strength, making his blows deadlier and more devastating to the point where a single punch can create an 80-meter wide crater on the ground.

 _Personality:_ Therron is generally mature and serious, in contrast to his childish friend, Aurion.

 **3\. Mathilda von Eisenhauer**

 _Appearance:_ Mathilda is 26 years old but appears to be younger because her body does not age. She has dark blue eyes and has long black hair with a fringe and long bangs on either side of her face. She is usually seen wearing a black gothic lolita outfit and carrying a black parasol on one hand and black teddy bear named Pandora on the other.

 _Age:_ 26

 _Previous Affiliation:_ Unknown.

 _Ability:_ Puppet Magic – Mathilda fights using her black teddy bear, Pandora. She supplies the stuffed animal with her own magic, temporarily giving it life and turning it into a deadly weapon.

 _Personality:_ Mathilda is very conscientious and quiet to the louder, more eccentric Aurion. In addition, she rarely expresses much emotion.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I know, I know, it's not really a chapter but I don't want to include a VERY long A/N on the next chapter just to introduce them, so I apologize to those who are disappointed. *bows* Feel free to tell me what you think about these OCs! Next chapter will be posted tomorrow, I promise! Ja ne!


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** I'm sorry! I was super busy with exams these past few weeks. I will still to update weekly though. As promised, here are Lucy, Erik, and the new OCs.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Velder**

"Tch. Calm down, woman."

"You can't tell me to calm down, Erik! That job was obviously a bogus! I am going to find out who posted that request, then – "

"And then what?"

Lucy stopped on her tracks, pondering about what Erik just said. True, she didn't think about what she would do once she finds out who posted that request. She just wanted to kick the living daylights out of him or her. But what if the requester also didn't know about the nest deep inside the sewer? Wouldn't that make Lucy the bad guy … girl if she kicked an innocent person?

The requester specifically asked them to exterminate Venom Slimes, though. Didn't they at least considered the fact that there's some sort of big boss down there? You know ... like a huge dragon or something. Sure, she found Icarus' key because of that job but was that enough reason to just ignore her sore feet, aching back, and messy hair?

"Oi, woman." Erik's voice broke her train of thoughts.

"What?"

"Let's just go back to the tavern and find a new job."

With a resigned sigh, Lucy gave Erik a nod and decided to just forget about her plan. _"I still want to kick someone's ass, though."_

* * *

The moment they stepped inside the tavern, Erik felt the tremendous amount of magical energy resonating inside the building. _"How long were we stranded inside that sewer?"_ Erik was pretty sure they were only gone for about a day. _"So some powerful mages arrived here in Wroclaw while we were gone? Interesting."_

Something's been bugging Erik, though. Looking around, he noticed that no one, not even Lucy, was aware of the immense magical energy inside the tavern. It's as if he was the only one who could feel it. Closing his eyes, Erik used his Dragon Slayer senses to determine who was emitting such a huge amount of magic inside the tavern.

With his vision disabled, his hearing was enhanced tenfold. He could hear every heartbeat, every breath, every flutter in the wind. He could even hear the people outside, the sound of the ocean waves, and even the sound of an upcoming storm. Filtering his ears, Erik focused on the sound waves associated with the powerful magical energy. After a few seconds of silence, he finally found what he was looking for. _"Wait ... there's three of them?"_

"Erik," Lucy tugged on his shirt, breaking his concentration. "Is something wrong?"

Opening his eyes, Erik's eyes immediately found the three persons emitting the huge magical energy. There were sitting on a corner: one a white-haired guy, one wearing a jacket, and a little girl carrying a toy. From the looks of it, they were having a normal conversation; completely unaware of Erik's eyes on them. He continued watching them with his snake-like eyes until he felt a tinge of pain in his arm.

"What?" Erik asked Lucy, annoyed that he was being disturbed.

"I asked you if there's something wrong. You just ignored me and kept staring at those three over there. Do you know them or something? Are you friends?" Lucy was looking at him with a questioning look. Erik already knew from experience that Lucy Heartfilia is a smart woman. He wouldn't even be surprised if she already knew that something was off about those three people.

And she proved again that he was right. Lucy turned her head and looked at the three people on the corner. Her eyes watching them like a hawk.

"Those three are not not normal mages." Erik pulled Lucy towards a table far enough to hide them from the three strangers, but near enough to let them watch. Erik could feel that Lucy was starting to get tensed. She must have started to feel the magical pressure the moment she realized its presence. She looked like she was ready to barf anytime.

After a few minutes, one of the three strangers - the white-haired guy stood up and walked towards the request board. Erik saw the teenager pull up a request before returning to their table, letting his two other companions know the quest's details. The three of them kept talking for a while before they started looking around the tavern as if they were searching for someone. Erik quickly averted his eyes and noticed that in front of him, Lucy also did the same.

After a few seconds, Erik slowly raised his head and looked at the strangers' table. _"The white-haired guy is gone._ "

Suddenly, a hand landed on Erik's right shoulder. His eyes widened and he quickly grabbed the hand touching him. Standing up, he came face to face with one of the three strangers they've been watching the whole day - the white-haired guy. _"I didn't even hear him approaching,"_ Eric thought to himself.

"Excuse me," the white-haired guy was beaming at them. "Do you wanna join us for a job?"

* * *

"My name is Aurion." The white-haired guy pointed at the two people standing beside him. "These guys are Therron and Mathilda. We're travelling mages."

"I'm Lucy and this is Erik." Lucy grabbed Erik's arm and pulled the frowning man beside her. Erik looked like he was ready to attack their three new friends any moment now, so Lucy had to pinch his arm to shift his attention towards her. "We're travelling mages, too." Lucy continued with a smile.

"Did 'ya hear that, Therron? Lucky!" Aurion draped his arm around the larger man's shoulder and gave Lucy a toothy grin, which made the latter blush.

"They still haven't said yes, Aurion." Therron crossed his arms in front of his chest, giving Lucy a glimpse of his bulging biceps.

 _"Gaaahh! What the hell are you doing Lucy?! Why are you ogling them?! You just met them!"_

Lucy then remembered that Erik could perfectly hear her thoughts, so she quickly looked at the man standing beside her and found him looking at her with a growl on his face. Lucy gave him an apologetic smile instead and looked back at the three people in front of them. After clearing her throat, Lucy replied. "I really appreciate your offer, but the decision to join you or not falls on my partner here."

Lucy could feel Erik staring at her so she started thinking, knowing that Erik could hear her thoughts. _"I really want to join them, Erik. They're not bad people. I could feel it. But it's still up to you if you want us to come with them. I trust you."_

After a few moments of silence between the two of them, Erik looked away from her and focused his attention to Aurion, Therron, and Mathilda. _"He's gonna say no,"_ Lucy thought to herself, waiting for Erik to just say the words. _"I really wanna join them though. The mission looks fun ..."_

"Fine. We'll join you."

"What?!" All eyes were on Lucy now, so she shyly cleared her throat and tried to look composed. "I mean, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"We still don't know the detail of the quest." Erik grabbed her shoulder and stopped her from walking away. "Do you want a repeat of what happened at the sewer?"

"N-no." Lucy bowed her head and decided to just let Erik do all the talking.

"Good." Erik replied, still looking at the three people in front of them. "Tell us the details."

"First of all, let me thank you for deciding to join us." Therron began. "This quest specifically states that at least 5 people should take the quest. Why? I have no idea. Basically, it's a hunting quest. The requester wants us to hunt for something called _Ignia's Memories_ somewhere on the western continent. The pay is about 3 million jewels each, so that's 15 million in total. Estimating the distance of the western continent from Wroclaw, it would take us about 3 weeks to get there by carriage and an entire month by foot. That's about it."

"Western continent," Erik seemed ... nervous. "If I remember correctly, the entire western continent fell under the control of the demons ages ago. Are you saying we're going to march straight into the demon's den just to find this memory thing?"

"Yes." Therron replied without even blinking. "It is true that the entire western continent was invaded by demons years ago, but nearby continents managed to reclaim some of its lands. Our only problem would be Velder."

"Velder?" Lucy asked.

"Velder used to be the capital of the entire western continent. When the demons invaded, they focused all their forces on Velder and made sure that the capital will fall. We're talking about a fallen Velder now, so it's obvious that the demons succeeded in their plan." Therron answered.

"Tch. What a pain." Erik closed his eyes and scratched his head with his right hand. "Last time I checked, Velder was under the control of that psychopath, Joaquin. That guy's worse than Zero, I tell you."

"Who's Zero?" Aurion asked.

"Long story." Lucy looked at Therron, resting her hands on her hips. "So if Velder's currently demon-infested, why do we have to go there? Shouldn't we just go around it or something?"

"There's no _around it_ on Velder." Therron glanced at her. "Giant walls borders the western continent from the rest of the world. If we want to enter the western continent, we HAVE to go through Velder. Once we're through Velder, we can worry less about demons and focus on finding what we're looking for."

"I'm starting to think this is a bad idea." Lucy looked at both Therron and Erik and saw the worried expression on their faces. They too were worried about marching straight into enemy territory. Lucy couldn't blame them though. After all, she fought the demon guild Tartaros along with the members of Fairy Tail. Last time she fought a demon, she lost one of her beloved keys. What if it happens again? _"Stop it Lucy! Aquarius will scold you for thinking like that!"_

Feeling a warm hand on her shoulder, Lucy turned to her side and saw Aurion' big goofy smile. "Don't worry Lucy! Once we're in Velder, I'm going to protect you with my life. I promise!"

That brought a smile to Lucy's face. _"He's really like Natsu..."_ "Thank you, Aurion. But don't worry about me. I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage, after all."

"So when do we leave?" Erik asked Therron.

"Tomorrow morning." Therron answered. "We meet at the town square tomorrow morning. Pack light. Don't bring anything unnecessary."

"Got it!" Lucy replied enthusiastically. "Let's do this!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Sorry for the long delay, everyone! Exam week was hell! I know that this is a short chapter but think of this as an intro to a new arc or something. Lol. Next chapter will introduce two new (?) characters that will surely surprise you. Any guess who these two will be? Don't forget to R and R! Kudos!


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes:** I returned from the grave! I won't be able to update this until next week but please accept this chapter as my apology for being gone for too long. As always, don't forget to R and R! Thanks!

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – The Betrayal**

"I open thee, gate of the Phoenix! Icarus!"

Lucy felt the familiar warmth she felt the first time she summoned Icarus. It was a familiar-yet-unknown feeling – like something she felt even before meeting Icarus. Dancing flames of red and yellow illuminated Lucy's room in a matter of seconds. After a moment, the flames converged in front of her into one single ball of fire. _"You better have a good reason for summoning me today, girly."_

In an instant, the warm feeling was gone and replaced with annoyance. Lucy already knew that Icarus was unlike any of her Celestial Spirits. He was arrogant, narcissistic and overbearing. All of the qualities she hates merged into one body. _"He's even worse than Ichiya,"_ Lucy thought to herself.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy replied. "I need you to tell me who you are and what the Black Keys are."

Lucy had never seen a Black Key before. She never even knew they existed before Icarus. Every Celestial Spirit Mage knows that every Celestial Spirit Gate Keys are separated into two categories: the more common Silver Keys and the extremely rare Gold Keys. There's never been a record of Black Key ever being found or used by any other Celestial Spirit Mage before. Not until her.

" _Tch. What a pain in the ass."_ As before, the ball of fire exploded into a great burst of light before finally revealing Icarus' real form. Once again, the arrogant redhead was standing before her, arms crossed in front of him, an angry snarl on his face. "Why the sudden interest, girly?"

"I told you to call me Lucy." Lucy sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. "I've never seen a Black Key before."

"That's because we're not Celestial Spirits. Well, not anymore at least."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, now more confused than ever.

For a brief moment, Icarus closed his eyes as if he was pondering what to tell her. Lucy could tell that Icarus was hesitant about answering her question. But she wanted to know everything there is to know about the Celestial Spirit World. And that includes the Black Keys.

"You've met the old man, right?" Icarus' eyes were boring at her.

"You mean the Celestial Spirit King? I have. Why?"

"He's our usurper."

"Usurper? What are you talking about, Icarus? And who is this "we"?"

"You ask a lot of questions, girly. Those questions might get you into trouble someday."

"I don't care, Icarus. I want to know more about you so please, tell me what you know."

With a defeated sigh, Icarus dispersed the flames around him and sat beside Lucy. "There were six of us. We were the first Celestial Spirits to be born from the Celestial Sphere. There's me - Icarus, Glaucus, Oxylus, Boreas, Belenus, and Erebus. We are the first Kings of the Celestial Spirit World."

Lucy wanted to ask more questions. Icarus' answers didn't help at all. Instead, they just presented her with more questions like what's the Celestial Sphere or where are the other five Original Kings now and if they were the original Kings, why did they left?

"We didn't leave, girly." Icarus continued as if he just read what was on her mind. "The old man, the current Celestial Spirit King was created eons after us six. Back then he was just an average Celestial Spirit; nothing too noticeable about him. But I did. I noticed him and made him my friend. Maybe that's the reason why we never saw it happen, you know?"

"Saw what?" Deep in her heart, Lucy already knew what Icarus was talking about. But still, she needed to her it from him.

"The betrayal."

There it was. Lucy's guess was correct. The old man really did betray Icarus and the others. She didn't want to believe it but Icarus' face showed no signs of untruthfulness. All she could see was hurt. He was hurting. He trusted the old man and in return, he usurped the throne from him and the other Kings.

"But why would he do that?" Lucy couldn't believe that the old man she met and the old man Icarus just mentioned are the same. It's like they're two different persons.

"I don't know." Icarus replied. "Before I knew it, the other five were already bounded to their Black Keys. I tried to ask him of course. But he didn't answer. And before I knew it, I too, was bounded. I have no idea how long I've been inside that Black Key."

"Wait a minute. If you can't return to the Celestial Spirit World, then where did you go yesterday?"

With a sly grin, Icarus replied. "Inside you."

"Care to explain that without that stupid grin on your face?"

"Unlike other Celestial Spirits, I can take on my Spirit Form and rest inside my master. It's an ability only we, the Original Celestial Spirit Kings have."

Icarus went on and explained to her the past of the Celestial World, how the twelve Gold Keys came into existence, and how her mother Layla tried to make a contract with him. _"She was very persistent, I'm telling you."_ he told her.

Apparently, during her adventures as a Celestial Spirit Mage, her mother met all six of the Original Celestial Spirit Kings. She tried to make a contract with them but they all declined her – not because she was weak or anything, but because all of them swore an oath to serve only the residents of the Celestial Spirit World.

"I did help her once though," Icarus continued. "You might not remember this but when you were just a babe, you were cursed by one of the dark mages your mother defeated. He gave you a flame curse of some sorts in reparation of what Layla did. Layla managed to summon me without a key and begged for my help. I cradled you in my arms, removed the flame curse from tiny body and told Layla never to summon me again. Who would've thought that the next person to summon me would be the same child I saved back then?"

He also gave her the locations of the other five Black Keys. "Glaucus' in Waking Sea, Oxylus' in Amaranthine, Boreas' in Highever, Belenus' in Calenhad, and Erebus' in Velder. I can't tell you the exact locations but they're there. I can feel it."

After a few more questions, Lucy let Icarus take a rest. She learned so many things about Icarus, the Black Keys, the Original Celestial Spirit Kings, the old man, and even about her mother. She had a lot of things to think about that night but two things Icarus said kept playing on her mind.

" _I cradled you in my arms."_ She finally understood why that warm feeling seemed familiar.

The second one she's more concerned about.

" _Erebus' in Velder."_


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes:** As I said earlier, I'll be posting new chapters each week (maybe once or twice a week). At the end of each chapter, I'll be posting the title of the next chapter - nothing too spoiler-ish. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 9** – Towards Velder! A New Journey Begins

Two weeks had passed since Lucy and her friends began travelling north towards the capital of demons, Velder. According to Erik, Velder's their only way in if they want to retrieve Ignia's Memories since its giant walls border the entire northern region. He also mentioned that what they're looking for is not in Velder – they just have to cross Velder in order to proceed north.

Travelling for two weeks straight made everyone groggy, so they're currently taking a break on a small fishing village called Honleath. Despite being small, Honleath's quite popular because of its clean, revitalizing springs and hot baths. The gang eventually decided to stay for the night on one of Honleath's hotels.

"Lucy!" A voice called out to Lucy from the hallway behind her. She quickly turned around and saw Aurion with his signature smiling face walking towards her. He was wearing a dark-blue yukata and his signature spiky white hair was brushed down. "Where are you heading?" He asked.

"I'm just going to check the village stores." She replied. "I'm going to buy souvenirs for my friends."

"You mean the people from your previous guild?"

Lucy just laughed it off. "No. I mean my Celestial Spirit friends."

"Oh right, you're a Celestial Spirit Mage. I forgot."

During their travels, Lucy told their new friends about her and Erik's abilities. They were surprised when Lucy told them that she's a Celestial Spirit Mage, but more surprised when she told them that Erik's a Dragon Slayer. Aurion told them that from where they came from, Celestial and Dragon Slaying magic were very rare and no one has ever seen one.

This wasn't a surprise to Lucy though. She already knew that there were only a few Celestial Wizards in existence, much more Dragon Slayers. Besides, most of the Dragon Slayers she knew are members of Fairy Tail.

"Can I come along?" Aurion asked.

"Sure!" Lucy replied with a smile.

Moments later, Lucy and Aurion were already busy checking out every store and stall around Honleath. They found tons of beautiful souvenirs for everyone and ended up buying too much than they intended to. Lucy bought ten simple bracelets for her Celestial Spirit friends and four more for Aurion, Therron, Mathilda and Erik. They only met two weeks ago but Lucy already considered them dear friends.

She gave one to Aurion and the later accepted it with a huge smile on his face. Lucy couldn't help but think about her friends back at Fairy Tail – especially Natsu since Aurion's attitude reminds her of the salmon-haired Dragon Slayer.

"Thanks, Lucy! No one has ever bought anything for me before. I'm going to treasure this."

Before she could even reply, Lucy felt a tremor on the ground. Her instincts quickly took over and she automatically put her hand on her keys. A few seconds later, the night skies of Honleath lit up as a huge explosion broke the night's silence.

"What was that?" Aurion's eyes surveyed the area, preparing for a surprise attack.

"We have to find out what's happening."

"What about the others?"

"They've heard the explosion by now. I'm sure they're on their way too."

Lucy and Aurion quickly ran towards the explosion. On their way, they saw chaos: people running around scared, injured civilians are everywhere and flames burning the surrounding houses. Lucy wanted to stop and help everyone but Aurion told her that stopping whoever's behind the explosion was their priority. And with a reluctant nod, Lucy ignored her feelings and followed.

A huge crater was on the ground when they arrived at the explosion's crater. Nearby houses were reduced to ashes and burnt corpses littered the ground. Lucy could feel her stomach churning at the sight in front of her.

"H – Help me …"

Lucy heard a voice and quickly scanned the area. There, under a pile of rubble, she saw an old woman. She's obviously injured and was bleeding profusely. "Hold on! I'm coming!"

"Lucy, wait - !"

She didn't wait for Aurion and quickly ran towards the old woman. When she got to her, Lucy tried to pull the old woman out of the rubble but couldn't. She tried to lift the rubble but it was too heavy and there were burnt woods too. "Hold on, okay? I'm gonna get you out of here."

"Thank you, but it's too late for me …" the old woman whispered.

"Don't say that!" Lucy tried to pull her out once more. "My friends will get here soon and – "

"But not before I get you!"

Lucy's eyes widened when the old woman suddenly transformed into a demon right in front of her. The old woman's face contorted and turned into that of a horrendous demon, its bones breaking and its skin turning dark. It jumped out of the rubble, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her on the ground. "You will die here!"

Lucy tried to pull out a key but the hands strangling her were too much. She could feel the demon's sharp nails tearing her skin. She was starting to lose consciousness

"Die, human."

"Oh no, you don't."

Out of nowhere, Aurion's fist connected with the demon's face, sending the creature flying towards a nearby building. He quickly checked up on Lucy and saw her slowly opening her eyes. "You alright?" He asked her as he helped her stand up.

"I'm - I'm fine." Lucy replied. "How did you do that – appearing out of nowhere?"

"I'm a Space Wizard. My ability allows me to break space and appear anywhere my eyes can see. Neat, huh?"

Lucy saw blood trickling down Aurion's right fist and quickly checked on it. "Aurion, your hand!" Its skin's been partially torn and blood kept coming out of it.

"I'm fine, Lucy." Aurion reassured her. "I usually fight with my gloves on but as you can see, I'm in vacation-mode right now. Besides, now's not the time to worry about a little wound."

Lucy, still a bit weakened because of the demon's surprise attack, pulled out Icarus' key and prepared to call forth the phoenix. "Thank you for the help, Aurion. Now it's my turn. I open thee, gate of the Phoenix! Icarus!" Red and orange flames converged into a man's visage, revealing Icarus' human form.

"Whoa." Aurion exclaimed, seeing Celestial Spirit Magic for the first time.

"What?" Icarus asked, obviously annoyed.

"We need your help, Icarus." Lucy pointed at the demon walking out of the building where Aurion sent it flying earlier. "That's a demon and we need your help to defeat it."

"Demon, eh?" The red-haired spirit looked at the creature and grinned. "It's been too long since I've killed a demon."

Unscathed from Aurion's attack, the demon jumped in front of them and Lucy finally saw what the demon looked like. Its face is that of an old woman – its teeth as sharp as a blade, its eyes bloodshot red, and the hair on its head moving in all direction. Its arms were long and its hands were big and clawed. Its upper body's that of a man but its lower body's a goat. Lucy had never seen anything like it before.

"Aurion! Lucy! Are you okay?!" Therron's voice echoed.

Behind them, Therron, Mathilda and Erik were already running towards them. Erik completely ignored Aurion and walked towards her, checking her for any injury. When his hands touched the wounds on her neck, Lucy couldn't help but flinch. The wounds weren't life-threatening by any means but it was deep.

"Who did this?" Erik's face was filled with controlled rage. "Tell me so I can kill them."

"Don't mind me." Lucy replied. "Aurion's injury is worse than mine. Besides, we have a demon to defeat."

Suddenly, a spine-tingling laugh filled the air. The demon was laughing.

"So, this is the group trying to enter Velder? What a joke." Even though laughing, the demon's face was devoid of emotion. Lucy could feel its eyes looking down upon her – upon them. Demons are naturally powerful creatures, but this one Lucy could tell was very powerful. "And a Celestial Spirit Mage, no less. _He_ will be pleased." The demon continued.

"Who will be pleased, demon?" Icarus asked.

"You're all nothing but tools - objects that will be used by him. Especially you, Celestial Spirit Mage. He will use you to his heart's content. The Dark King will be waiting for you at Velder."

In an instant, the demon was gone. Only destruction and death was left at Honleath. Lucy couldn't believe it. The demon attacked Honleath because she was there. She triggered that night's events. The demon's mission was probably to size them up – to test their strength. And the demon deemed them unworthy.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop it." Erik's voice broke her thoughts. "You didn't cause this – that demon did. If you want to wallow in self-pity, then be my guest. But if you want to avenge the people of Honleath who lost their lives today, then you'll stop being an idiot and get back on your ass."

Erik's never good at giving pep talks but Lucy knew that he's right. Thinking too much won't get them anywhere. They need to act.

"The demon mentioned something about a Dark King. Is it talking about that Joaquin guy you mentioned, Cobra?" Aurion asked.

"I don't know." Erik replied. "I do know one thing though – whoever sent that demon wants us to get to Velder."

* * *

 _*Back at Velder*_

"I have returned, Master Joaquin."

"Ah, Belial you're finally back. Tell me – how's our future guests?"

"There are five of them, Master. And one of them is a Celestial Spirit Mage."

"Really? Now that's something. Thank you, Belial. You may take your leave now."

"Yes, Master."

"Did you hear that? A Celestial Spirit Mage is coming here."

"Indeed."

"Is that a smile I see on your face, old friend?"

"Maybe."

"The Dark King is smiling. Should I call for a feast?"

"I told you to not call me that. I'm not a king – not anymore."

"Fine. What do you want me to call you then?"

"My name."

"Your name it is then, Erebus."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Next chapter will see our gang finally arriving on Velder! Next chapter: **"Destroy Velder's Gates, Mathilda's Hexes!"**


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes:** I won't be uploading any new chapters until next week, guys. As always, thanks for reading and don't forget to Rate and Follow my story!

* * *

 **Chapter 10** – Destroy Velder's Gates, Mathilda's Hexes!

After the demon's attack, Lucy and the gang stayed at Honleath for two more days to help the village get back to its feet. Other travelers who also fell in love with Honleath decided to help, too. Nearby villages and towns offered their support as well. The villagers of Honleath thanked them before they left and even gave them a few supplies for their travel north towards Velder.

On the way, Therron came up with a strategy that will get them through Velder the safest and fastest way possible.

"We march straight and destroy their gates." Therron said, not even batting an eyelash.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" It was Erik. "The moment we blow up those gates, demons will rain down upon us. There are thousands of them holed up in that fucking city. How is that a plan, genius?"

"Erik, you didn't let him explain." Lucy looked at Therron apologetically. "Please continue."

"Thank you, Lucy." Therron gave her a curt nod. "As I was saying, breaking through Velder's walls is virtually impossible. It's not just a normal wall. It's full of Ethernano. It will take an attack as powerful as the Etherion just to breach it. It's also as high – or maybe even higher - as the Tower of Heaven itself, so trying to climb over it is useless."

"What about using Aurion's ability?" Lucy looked at Aurion. "You can teleport, right? Why can't you just teleport us on the other side of the wall?"

"Lucy, I can't do that." Aurion answered. "Remember what I told you? I can only teleport as far as my eyes can see. If I can't see what's behind that giant wall, I can't teleport us there."

"Then that gate's our only way in." Lucy concluded.

"Yes," Therron replied. "But don't worry. I have a plan once we're inside Velder."

* * *

Tomorrow they will finally break through Velder and Lucy couldn't help but feel scared. The demon they fought at Honleath told them that the Dark King awaits them at Velder. Lucy had no idea about the Dark King's identity or the reason why it wants her. All she knew is that the moment they enter Velder, they're the Dark Kings playthings.

Lucy was so deep in her thoughts, she didn't feel anything when someone walked up behind her.

"Thinking about tomorrow?" Therron sat beside her on the river bank.

"Yeah," Lucy was looking at the water, watching as tiny fishes swim by. "We all know there's a trap waiting for us but we still have to do it. That kind of sucks, don't you think?"

"Of course it does. But we're wizards, Lucy. Our lives will be boring if we don't have these kinds of things to do. Besides, my plan will definitely work. Have a little faith."

"What about Mathilda? She's the heart of your plan. Is she okay with it?"

"Don't worry about her. Mathilda may look fragile but she's more powerful than me and Aurion combined. We actually tried to fight her two-on-one before and she completely destroyed us without even moving an inch. That's how powerful she is."

"Wow," Lucy exclaimed. "I never though she's that powerful."

"You have no idea. Anyway, it's already getting late. You better get some sleep because tomorrow, we fight." Therron stood up and started walking back towards their camp.

"Hey Therron," Lucy called out to him. "Thank you."

Therron didn't turn around. Instead, he waved his hand and continued walking.

* * *

Looking at Velder's walls, Lucy couldn't believe how big and tall they were. Her eyes couldn't even see the top because they're already touching the clouds. The gate also looked like something out of a story book. Two gigantic chains connected to the ground adorned the sides of the gate. The gate itself was already old and rusted but Lucy could still feel great power emanating from it.

"You guys ready?" Therron was looking at them. "Once we destroy those gates, there's no turning back. The only way left is forward."

"How about you, Mathilda? Are you ready?" Mathilda gave Lucy a cold stare and just nodded her head in response.

"Can we even destroy that thing?" Erik pointed at the gate. "Even if we combine all our attacks, I doubt we could even scratch that thing, much less destroy it."

"Have some faith, Erik." Therron walked towards the gate and adjusted the glove on his right hand. "My ability gives me physical strength unmatched by anyone. Leave this to me and stick with the plan. Now stand back."

They did as they were told and moved away from Therron and the gate. Lucy saw Therron taking a few deep breaths. He was also clenching and unclenching his fists. Seconds later, red lightning sparks enveloped his right arm. Lucy had never seen anything like it before.

"It's almost time." Aurion whispered beside her, his eyes focused on Therron. "Get ready, everyone."

"Here I go!" Therron bent his right arm, preparing to throw a powerful attack. _"Pure Power: Devastating Hook!"_

It was as fast as lightning, but the moment Therron's right hook connected with the gate, a powerful explosion followed and completely obliterated Velder's gate. The punch was so powerful, Lucy would've been blown away if not for Erik's help. Dust of the aftermath filled the surrounding and voices could be heard from inside the wall.

"Everyone, now!" Therron's voice signaled the start of their plan. Lucy quickly pulled out a key from her belt and called forth one of her Celestial Spirits.

"I open thee, gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

"Is it time for my weekly punishment, princess?" The Celestial Spirit in maid costume asked.

"Hell, no!" Lucy exclaimed. "Proceed with plan A, Virgo."

"As you wish, princess." Virgo quickly dug a hole underneath them, and the whole group jumped and followed the Celestial Spirit, leaving a bunch of demons flooding out of Velder.

* * *

"Using the explosion as a decoy then using Virgo's ability to enter Velder underground was a great idea, Therron." It was Aurion.

Lucy couldn't believe that their plan worked perfectly. When Therron came up with the plan, Lucy was a bit reluctant to agree because it would put Therron too close to the demon's den. However, Therron assured her that he will be fine and that his plans never fail him. Turned out Therron was right and now, the demons are probably scouring outside Velder just as he planned.

Therron also mentioned that Velder's too big for them to continue travelling underground and that they would eventually have to come out and keep travelling above ground. So far, Therron's plan was going smoothly and Lucy took that moment to take a breather.

"Hey woman, you okay there?" Erik asked behind her. "You're thinking too much again."

"I'm fine, Erik." Lucy replied with a smile. "I'm just glad that everything went according to plan."

"Well don't just celebrate yet, we're still not out of Velder." Therron, who was walking in front of them, said.

"We're here princess." Lucy saw light coming down from the hole Virgo dug. They followed the Celestial Spirit above ground and for the first time in her life, Lucy wished she could've remained underground forever.

"Is – Is this Velder?" Lucy couldn't believe what she was seeing. All houses were destroyed, the ground crawling with worms and other insects, human skeletons littered the surrounding area, and the putrid smell of death filled the air. Lucy couldn't even imagine what the people of Velder went through when demons invaded their city. "Demons did this?"

"Yes," Erik answered. "It's even worse than the last time I was here."

"We have no time to waste." Therron said. "We have to get out of here now."

" _What's the rush, dearies?"_

The group quickly spun around to see what appeared to be an old man wearing some sort of gas mask. He was wearing a simple clothing made of leather and topped with a long lab coat. On his waist was a belt and attached to it were potions of some kind. He also had a cane on his right hand to help him walk.

"Joaquin." Erik uttered behind her.

"Ah, Cobra of the Oracion Seis. I see you've returned. Came to deliver me more poisons?"

"Erik, what is this demon talking about?" She asked him.

"I used to find and deliver poisons for this psycho. But that was before, while I was still a member of Oracion Seis." Erik explained. "This man is dangerous, and strong. We have to run away."

"Run away, you say?" Joaquin shouted across them. "I'm afraid that's impossible, dearies. You see, the Dark King wants all of you dead – except for you blondie. He wants you alive."

"Why? What does he want with me?!" Lucy shouted back.

"I have no time to answer stupid questions. He wants you and he wants you now!"

Behind Joaquin, hoards of demons started appearing. There were hundreds … thousands of them. Each one of them looked like they had been experimented on – their bodies filled with stitches and different body parts attached and replaced one another. They didn't look anything like the demons she fought back when she was still at Fairy Tail.

Seconds later, all hell broke loose as Lucy and her friends were attacked by the demons. Lucy quickly pulled out her Fleuve d'etoiles and managed to fend off few of them. Therron and Aurion kept punching and sending demons flying while Erik's Dragon Slayer Magic kept most of the demons at bay. Still, they were outnumbered thousand-to-one.

"There's too many of them! We have no choice. We have to proceed to plan B!" Therron said as he punched a demon and sent it flying. "Mathilda, now!"

Lucy looked at Mathilda right before she threw her favorite teddy bear towards the sky.

" _Hex Magic:_ _Puppeteer's Grasp."_

Lucy's eyes widened when she saw what happened to Mathilda's teddy bear. Mathilda's cute bear magically turned into a giant burning bear humanoid, and as soon as its giant feet touched the ground, it started rampaging and decimating all demons around them.

"What the hell is that?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"That's one of Mathilda's powers." Aurion answered, smashing a demon's face on the ground. "She's a Witch and she can do lots of cool stuff with her powers. She once turned Therron into a dog just because he ate the last piece of cookie on her plate."

"That's amazing - and a bit scary." Lucy said as she kept fending off the attacking demons.

On the corner of her eye, Lucy saw Joaquin laughing like a maniac before he pulled out a green potion from his belt and smashed it on the ground. Green smoke slowly filled the air and Lucy saw the remaining demons around them inhaled the smoke like their lives depended on it. Then they changed. The demons grew bigger and became more agitated. Their attacks too, became more aggressive and powerful.

"Now, let's see if you can keep up, wizards. Hahahaha!" Joaquin's laugh reverberated through the air as more and more demons started appearing. Every minute they get stronger, faster, and more dangerous. Lucy was confident it was because of that green potion Joaquin used earlier.

"We can't keep this up!" Erik shouted.

"Mathilda! Plan C!" Therron shouted from the back.

"We have a plan C?!" Lucy never heard anything about a plan C. "Why didn't you tell me we have a plan C?!"

" _Hex Magic: Simulacrum."_

Under Mathilda's feet, a black Magic Seal appeared. Black smoke poured out of the Magic Seal into the surrounding area. Everything went silent. Lucy couldn't even hear her own heartbeat. _What's happening?_ Lucy thought to herself. Then she heard something. _It sounded like … a sheep?_

When the black smoke finally dissipated, Lucy's jaw dropped.

"Where did all these sheep come from?!"

Aurion quickly grabbed Lucy by the hand and pulled her away from the weird sight around her. Everywhere Lucy looked, there were sheep. Black sheep, white sheep, there were even pink and blue sheep. Lucy had to pinch herself just to make sure she was not dreaming.

"We'll explain everything once we get out of here, Lucy. I promise." Aurion said, still pulling her by the hand.

"First, we have to get somewhere safe." Therron said, carrying a sleeping Mathilda on his arms.

* * *

When the black smoke finally dissipated, the wizards were already gone and Joaquin's army of demons magically turned into herd of sheep.

"That stupid Belial! He never mentioned anything about a Witch!" Joaquin kicked away a sheep when it tried to eat his coat.

"Outsmarted by a Witch, Joaquin?"

Behind Joaquin, four mysterious figures appeared.

"Shut your trap, Chloe. I promise I'm gonna get those brats for the Dark King."

"Why don't you let us help you, Joaquin. I promise we won't get in your way."

"Tch. Fine. But that Witch is mine."

"If that's your wish."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Ha! You thought there's going to be a major fight scene here, right? You're wrong! Next chapter: **Therron vs Megard, A Clash of Pure Power!**


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